Hi Viz Wear - To Wear or Not To Wear - Hackers

[kirstyhen]

On Hen I used to wear a tabard, but if you failed to miss that mass of white arse, you shouldn't be driving!

However I was in the car one morning (normal weather, neither bright and sunny, nor grey and miserable) and passed a lady riding a bay, head to toe in brown clothing. We didn't see her until we about 2ft away from her, luckily there was nothing coming the other way, so we missed her but it could have been far worse. The road has high hedges either side and she just blended in perfectly! It really highlighted to me how important Hi-Viz is.
So now with Mally, I have a tabard and she has leg wraps, we haven't even hacked yet! She has leg wraps on the basis that if I come off and she gallops down the road, I'd like cars not to hit my precious pony, and I was told leg wraps are the most eye catching due to the flashing movement.

All in hot pink and matching of course

 

[footballerswife]

i had a real thing about hi viz - all i had was my horse had reflective bits on his rain sheet but over the years as a driver in windy country lanes i have come to appreciate the extra time the increased visibility gives you to react and slow down. i would never go out now without hi viz and because i am vain i buy new balance runners' skins in hot pink and you can be seen for miles!

 

[Solo1]

On longer hacks I shove on a tabbard, and sometimes reflective leg bandages. However they can slip when soggy and horse hates them, so not if I'm going to go through some water.

Have to admit though, I sometimes take her for a wander down the lane after a schooling session with no hi vis on. She hates being handed things from the floor and is a bugger to mount, and I never remember to put it on to school. I can only get away with it because our lane is straight with low hedges, and very wide verges I dive onto when a car comes. Have only passed about 3 cars in the 4 years I've been here though, so can usually get away with a cheeky canter down the verge ;D

 

[lauraandjack]

If you're dead against the idea of proper fluorescent Hi-Vis, at least wear something bright. Red, pink, turquoise are all a lot better than navy or brown, at least give the drivers a fighting chance of seeing you and your horse. A bay horse with a rider dressed in navy can be near enough invisible on a dull day or in the shadows.

I too used to hack out as a child and never wear hi vis (and I'm not that old really). But the roads are definitely busier, drivers are in much more of a hurry and less attentive, and (something which I really notice now) modern cars are very quiet, so you get much less warning that there is traffic coming on a windy country lane for example.

I don't leave the yard without it now (I may have a cob, but I'm certainly no happy hacker). If nothing else, if you are unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident, the driver will find it hard to claim that they "didn't see you" if you are bright and reflective.

 

[CambridgeParamour]

I always wear my tabbard without fail... leg wraps if i'm going on busier roads, along with rein and breastplate covers, and a sheet if its dull and cold. It' not worth the risk IMO

 

[Piglet]

Unfortunately the roads have become a lot busier than they were years ago, I never used to wear hi-viz but now I have to ride on the roads all the time I wear only a hi-viz equafleece as my job entails road safety etc so I think I need to practice what I preach seeing as I work in the area where I hack out

 

[Redd]

I always where hi-viz when hacking out, and have a hi-viz t-shirt for really hot weather. I also have flashing LED bands for my arm and horses legs from knightkit. (They are really for runners rather than horses but fine over his boots). The hi-viz hat cover really helps with the local RAF base, as the helicopters and aeroplanes see us and divert rather than coming over so close that I can see the faces of the people and their guns! I've seen how much horses and riders without hi-viz blend into the bushes etc, and I always think that they can't love their horse much if they can't be bothered to buy/wear hi-viz -shouldn't own a horse in my opinion!